Comment from Susan Newell

Excellent

Tom,

I guess I missed this because of the contest entry being blind, and thus not receiving a notification. I really like this. People use words to imprison others all the time and the prisons don't even need walls. This is a very thoughtful and profound short piece. Excellent.

Sur

 Comment Written 12-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 12-Feb-2022

Hello Sue,
Thanks for the fine comments and review. I received a surprising number of comments on this piece. I think a lot of people can relate to how words have the power to build walls or set people free. That's a lot of power to have. I think we would all be wise to think before we speak. That's one nice thing about writing, you can go back and correct yourself before any damage is done. Even then I've managed to offend without intending to. I appreciate you gal.
Have a blessed day.
Tom

reply by Susan Newell on 12-Feb-2022

Tom,

I agree about the writing. But you reminded me of a former boss who told me after he hired me that one reason was because I thought before I spoke. I've still managed to put my foot in my mouth up to the ankle a time or two. :-)

Comment from jwsteele

Excellent

Interesting. Why is it God is on every side that oppose each other? This little gem reads like an evangelical narrative for Jim Jones. They all found God to, and his name was People's Temple from their perspective.

 Comment Written 12-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 12-Feb-2022

If one doesn't have an understanding of what the bible teaches, it's easy to be deceived. Of course all religions, as you mention, believe that the god they worship is the right one. I think many people just do what they've always done without bothering to investigate further the teachings. That and other things played into my decision to get involved with the farm. It's a long story, but the bottom line is that it wasn't what it appeared to be at first, and it took a long time and the realization that if I didn't leave when I did, I'd probably never leave. Thanks so much for your insightful comments.

Comment from giraffmang

Excellent

Hi there,

The funny thing is, all organised religions are basically cults. They all promise things will be better at some unspecified time in the future with no evidence to back it up... But folk never seem to see the similarities.

Well-written piece
GMG

 Comment Written 12-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 12-Feb-2022

Thanks for the fine review and comments. I have to disagree with you though about all religions being cults. Though the place I was at turned out to be cult-like in many instances, in time it changed. Different people moved out and the founder actually died in an airplane accident. It took a long time for circumstances to work out so that I left. I think that a personal relationship with God is very important, and had I been more in tune with him at the time, no doubt things might have worked out different. Nonetheless, in God's economy, nothing goes to waste, and I actually benefited from my time there regardless of the unpleasant things I endured.

Comment from nomi338

Excellent

You ,must never forget the lesson that Waco, Jonestown and others like the taught. It is never a good thing to isolate yourself with little or no way to escape. To please and serve God you do not need to isolate yourself. He knows who those are who serve him acceptably, he knows where you are. he can reach you, his desire is that you tell others the truth about the benefits of serving him. You cannot do that when you surround yourself with people who think the same way as you do. And if your beliefs are wrong you risk being ordered to drink the poisoned KoolAid as the leader descends further into madness.

 Comment Written 12-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 12-Feb-2022

Thank you for your insight and comments. You're quite right. You need to listen to that still, small voice of God. Unfortunately, at the time I let circumstances influence my decision. That being said, I nonetheless did benefit from my time there, although things could have gone awry very easily, as at one point I was so despondent that I considered suicide, but didn't want to leave my wife and kids behind there to deal with the issues.

Comment from Mary Vigasin

Excellent

An excellent and very honest picture of how one can get up in a cult.i do believe that one is looking for emotional support. They do become a prisoner both physicality and in their thinking unless they break free.
Remarkable writing.
Best wishes
Mary

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 12-Feb-2022

Thanks for the great review and comments. We were at a disadvantage when we moved there, as we spent all the money we had traveling. I was ready to leave the second day, but my wife didn't share my feelings, so I felt even more isolated. It took ten years before we made the decision to leave, and by then things were much better, but there was no future there for me.

Comment from Anne Johnston

Excellent

Such a sad situation you have written about here. My heart goes out to people who are caught up in something like this. These people are under bondage and that is not what God wants, He came to set us free.

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2022

Thanks for the kind review and thoughtful comments. How often I struggled with that very thought, and though in my heart I knew that God wanted to set us free, the actions I viewed and the sermons I heard made it hard to believe.

reply by Anne Johnston on 12-Feb-2022

You are welcome.

Comment from LJbutterfly

Excellent

I'm concerned. You listed this piece as Non-fiction. I hope you are not really trapped with a cult. If this is not really you, you've chosen a great subject to fictionalize. Words can destroy, disillusion, and hurt. Best wishes in the contest.

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2022

Thanks for your concern. It is indeed non-fiction, but this all happened from 1976 to 1987. The first five years were the worst by far. We were somewhat isolated. At one point I sold my car and bought a plane ticket to go home and spend time with my parents, though I was married and had children. I was convinced that the plane was going to crash and I was going to be the cause of multitudes of people dying, but I was so miserable I didn't care. I figured hell couldn't be any worse than what I was feeling at the time. Ten years after we left, I started writing a book. At first it was going to be an expose' but as time went on and I wrote more, it became a means of healing. Now I can look at some of the misery and laugh about it, though it wasn't a laughing matter at the time.

Comment from Terry Broxson

Excellent

A powerful story for only a hundred words. This could do really well in the contest, good luck. The thing that makes it more powerful is that it is posted as nonfiction. Excellent work!

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2022

Thanks for the fine review and comments. It is indeed non-fiction. It would be hard to make up all of the things we went through. I just hope it serves as a warning to folks to realize that there is much power in words. They can bind as tight as any rope and imprison as well as any jail.

Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose

Excellent

Excellent entry for the The Prisoner writing prompt contest. You followed the rules well. The flash fiction has a clear plot that though short it conveyed effective ideas.

I agree with you, words have serious consequences for good or for harm.

Good luck in the contest.

Gypsy

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2022

Thanks for your fine review and comments. Who would ever think that words could imprison a person? We all have such power to crush another person or make their day. It's kind of scary.

Comment from John Ciarmello

Excellent

This is an interesting piece of writing. I took the story you told here as metaphoric. The promised land was less than what had been promised. The men that left were banished and sent to hell. The rest of them stuck in a limbo with no good choice out. Loved it!

 Comment Written 11-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 11-Feb-2022

Thanks for your kind review and comments. Those that left never seemed to look back. In time things changed, but it was still not paradise by any means.